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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23187307">May I Take Your Order Please</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pchan2017/pseuds/Pchan2017'>Pchan2017</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Axe is a creeper, Boys are pretty chill about it, Can we say Resets?, Deja Vu, Edge is moody!, Edge is not a happy boi, F/M, Hope the lamb is ok!, Kinda a jumbled mess in the beginning, Monsters been on the surface awhile, Multi, OMG Fresh's lingo is difficult, Ooops!, Quick thinking on your part Reader!, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader puts foot in mouth on first meeting, Reader works fast food, Reader-Insert, Reverse Harem, Skellie boys are new in town!, Soulmates? Yes there are soulmates, Strange things are happening, Stretch.. is an evil flirt, Sure Edge was sent along to keep Axe out of trouble and not to make sure you stayed safe sure, Yes I think we can, couldn't sleep, maybe some typos, reader is female, sorry - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:41:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,410</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23187307</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pchan2017/pseuds/Pchan2017</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You work and live in a small town, out in the middle of nowhere. Monsters have been on the surface for awhile now but you have not meet any before. A pandemic is sweeping over the world and making people stupid and here you are pulling a late night shift when you get the surprise of being the first to greet monsters to your hometown.. and you put your foot in your mouth.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Papyrus/Reader, Sans/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>400</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Old Nine To Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a little side story which popped up in mind the other day, a little breather from my more serious works at the moment. I will most likely be slow to update here, and I can't promise that this will not be a slow burn, just depends on how things go. I will update tags as things develop.  Also yeah, I am addressing a pandemic in this story, but not making light of the situation going on around us, just well, it is on my mind so it became part of the story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The three am shift. Not your favorite shift in the slightest. Late enough to have your brain fuzzy, and early enough to call it morning. These hours of the morning, you would much rather spend at home, in your nice comfy bed, sleeping away the hours. But no, your dearest friend and coworker just had to go and sweet talk you into trading some hours so she could attend a concert, which now thanks to the chaos going on, was canceled! By all rights, your store shouldn’t even be open right now, not with a worldwide pandemic at hand!</p>
<p>	But thankfully your area was still in the ‘safe zone’ of the matter, and hadn’t had certain restrictions put in place. So here you were, covering a shift that didn’t even need to be done cause who in the hell would be out and about while everyone lost their minds and were either at the local super markets, cleaning out the shelves of much needed supplies, or at home like rational minded people and sleeping.</p>
<p>	Yawning, you ran through the mental checklist of what supplies you needed to pick up, once this shift was over, for what had to be the fifty time that night as you lazily pushed a broom around the empty lobby. </p>
<p>	Milk, eggs, bread, some toilet paper if some slack jaw neanderthal had not already beat you to it, not a lot, just one set of 24 rolls to see you through for a good while.. Some more filters for your water pitcher, few cans of veggies and some soup would be nice.. A pretty reasonable list, you would have to remind yourself to steer clear of the frozen aisle or your old temptation of the cold wet stuff, ice-cream, would pull you in and stars know your waistline did not need you face first into a carton of your favorite flavor.</p>
<p>	You had a few more items on the list, but you knew it well enough now that you weren’t too concerned. A quick dash in to get what you need, and out again.. Then you would be on your way home to put everything away, wash your hands, and settle in for some much needed relaxation as you were facing a nice three day weekend.<br/>	That of course, would be when this god forsaken shift would end! Seriously, there was no reason to even have the store open right now! No one in their right mind would be out here ordering..</p>
<p>DING!</p>
<p>	Well, speak of the devil and he will appear. Sighing with as much annoyance as you could muster, you trudged back over to the counter and slapped a smile on your face while turning dawning the headset to take your customer’s order.</p>
<p>	You went through the usual fake cheerful greeting and request for their order, in return you found yourself stifling a laugh as a series of puns, shouts from another in the vehicle to “STOP WITH THE DAMN JOKES NOW, RED!” as well as some grumbling greeted your request.</p>
<p>	By the time the order had made it through, two large coffees, three mustard packs in one.. Ew, the other with .. holy hell twelve sugars and two creamers, as well as two breakfast sandwiches, a mint shake with.. Oh gross, barbecue sauce added..? Two kids meals, no make that one kids meal and one very not a kids meal which was composed of the same items that would have been in the meal sans one toy.. Laughter at the mention of sans, which you caught one quickly thanks to mister likes to scream a lot, a regular burger with extra ketchup and finally a strawberry shake.. Those final two being the most normal things out of that stomach churning order, yeah this was one of your strangest requests ever.</p>
<p>	You, fighting back the strain in your voice from the way your stomach clenched at the very thought of the slop your strange customers  had ordered, informed them that it would take a few minutes, to pull up to the first window to pay and then off to the curb so they could prepare it all, was met with a few more puns and some grumbling, as well as what you suspected was a not too subtle attempt at someone trying a pick up line till it was cut off short with a loud thwack and a “”Fuck! Dammit Boss!”</p>
<p>	Oh this group was going to be fun.. Or a major headache, but either way, you would have an interesting story to type up in the morning, Reddit was going to just love your latest post when you get home!</p>
<p>	As the vehicle came into view, a rather large SUV, painted rather comically to resemble one of those red and yellow kid’s cars, the large, bulky plastic sort that hung out in your neighbor’s front lawn, came into view, your attention was stolen away from the silly car’s details, to the inhabitants.</p>
<p>	Monsters? Well that was a surprise, skeleton monsters to be exact. They startled you at first, but the large grin on the driver soon had you at ease. You had no real problem with monsters, you had seen the news and been paying attention to local media of course. They had been on the surface for six years now, and new arrivals were seeming to pop up every couple more. What surprised you, was to see actual monsters here in your little backwater town. Glancing back, you confirmed your suspicions. A small trailer was hitched to the back of their vehicle, a little u-haul, just small enough to make it through the drive-thru without too much trouble. So your town was getting its first taste of monsters, and they had decided your little grease trap was just the place to swing by for a late night, early morning snack.</p>
<p>	You grinned as you eyed this easy going, laid back skeleton.. So here was the pun master who had nearly made you break protocol of professionalism with giggles. Giggles, mind you, that still wanted to bubble up. And then it happened, you opened your damn mouth and let the words fall out which you had been trying to hold back.</p>
<p>	“Damn, nothing but bones, I bet you boys are starving.” A skeleton jab, and not a very good one!  A moment of silence filled the air as the driver, who had been holding out his card for you to swipe and hand back over, stared at you in what you suspected was horror and revulsion at your poor choice for an ice breaker. </p>
<p>	Your graze shifted from his large, empty sockets, to the series of bright eye lights staring at you, the car was filled with skeletons.. And each had their eye lights glued on your dumb self. You could feel the heat of embarrassment flooded up your neck and face in seconds. “Oh my god I am so so..”</p>
<p>	Your apology was cut short with laughter, as well as “NYEH!”s in varying degrees of insult. The driver, who quickly was wining you over as the world’s best customer at not being insulted but holding his.. Well where his stomach should be, leaning over the steering wheel laughing, cracked one socket to you and wiped away a blue tear from the corner of his eye. </p>
<p>	How.. was any of this even possible..?</p>
<p>	“Damn, kid. No bones about it, you know how to make us feel right at home.” Behind him, another skeleton gripped the headrest and looked over to get a good look at you, from his shit eating grin, you guessed this was Mr. Flirts-a-lot. “Sweet, don’t think I’ll be too bonely here after all, Classic..” Oh yeah, you knew that sort of grin from a mile away, devil in skeleton’s clothing alright.</p>
<p>	Shaking your head, you rushed your apology, though the driver, who introduced himself as Sans, shark tooth behind him as Red, as well as a few others, some who refused to look your way (namely the one you quickly found out to be the one Red had called Boss, Edge and his smaller edgy twin, Black), as well as a few more names you sadly would forget soon enough. For first impressions, you hoped you hadn’t done too horribly for your small town.. Well then again, maybe it was lucky you were covering your friend’s shift. As sweet as she was, she was pretty vocal on her distrust of monsters and how happy she had been that her ‘beloved little town had remained monster free’ well.. That was one bubble you would have to bust soon.. You made a mental note, as you rung up the order, swiped the card and handed it back over, that you would need to send her a text to call you in the morning.</p>
<p>	Best to be the first to break the news for her, cause if you could put your foot in your mouth that quickly, with a poorly timed joke, she could do so much worse.. And not in a way that would end up well for her.</p>
<p>	Since the line was empty, you decided to just let them stay at the window, and enjoyed the bickering from the various skeletons, as well as the puns which flew back and forth between them, as well as some directed your way, as you bagged up the order and handed over the various drinks.</p>
<p>	Your sole co-worker for the evening, Evan, who made it pretty clear that he was happy and just fine making the food but staying out of the line of sight, was white as a ghost by the time the odd car full of funny skeletons was ready to drive away. </p>
<p>	“Hey kid.” You turned your attention back to Sans, having expected him to already be driving off, not still parked at your window, his lazy grin back in place as he held out a hand. “Nice to make a new pal.” You grinned, throwing caution to the wind cause, well hand shakes were now a social faux pa thanks to the chaos of the outside world, took hold of his boney hand to shake it.</p>
<p>The night was topped off by the handshake, as of course this skeleton was sporting a whoopee cushion of all things. Heavens above, you were glad you actually took this shift, you wouldn’t forget this night for a long time.</p>
<p>“Heh.. works every time.. Hope to see you around, kid. You’re not too bad.” To this, you laughed, waving him off, informing him that all he had to do was swing by for a bite, to which Red chimed in with his own thoughts on what he would like to bite.. And was quickly smacked back into his seat thanks to Edge, who was seated beside him.. Yeah, you were quickly hoping this lot would become regulars.</p>
<p>“I’m here just about every day.. Though I suggest trying at the end of lunch rush, maybe we can catch up on one of my breaks.”  To this Sans grinned, gave a nod and bid you farewell. Leaving you with one hell of a story, as well as a few good laughs and something more than just a paycheck to look forward to when you would be coming back to work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	All in all. You were pretty glad you took on what was normally a very dull shift.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Adulting? Yes you are doing that very well, thank you very much!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ah the weekend. A little glimpse at our crazy reader's life.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The first chapter was received better than I expected! I felt as though it was all over the place, but I am happy that you all are enjoying it so far ^_^<br/>Oh and I will fix the tags, I forgot to add reverse harem cause I am a fool for those, sorry to disappoint if you are not in favor of them. Feel free to drop by my blog and ask any questions you might have or just say hi! https://washedupfae.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The long weekend found you with , yep you knew it would happen, a pint of your favorite ice cream and a lot of really bad tv. The store had been a madhouse, even at five in the morning, well five thirty by the time you had gotten off work, but you managed to get nearly everything on your list… save for a few rolls of toilet paper, good grief you had nearly been mauled by some middle aged Karen who had over filled her buggy as you went for the last pack.</p>
<p>	You were a bit proud of yourself however, for the creative slew of phrases you threw her way, which granted you a small ban from the store for a couple of weeks. Ok so maybe you could have held your tongue a bit better, but chances are that woman was just going to turn around and try to sell the much needed tissue to her neighbors and friends at a jacked up price. “Hopes she chokes on it!” You mumbled, stuffing another spoonful of the heaven sent , ice cold, god’s gift to mankind that is known as ice cream.</p>
<p>	On the plus side of things, it gave you a chance to stop by a little mom and pop on the outskirts of town, and luck was on your side again! They had the much needed paper, and even threw you a spare roll since you were always so sweet and polite.. Heh, thanks customer service yet again for coming to your rescue, even when ticked off, you could fake a smile so sweet that you had melted quite a few sour hearts in the past.</p>
<p>	Now well stocked on provisions.. And junk food, yeah you may have blew your budget on sweets just a tad, ah well, you would be fine, just had to remind yourself not to buy anymore bad for you, but oh so good snacks till the following two weeks had passed.</p>
<p>	While enjoying the worst tv dramas known to date, you hummed happily, checking your phone for any replies on your latest post, and was rather pleased with the outcome. A lot of people had commented, and you had a good laugh at some of the replies.</p>
<p>	There were plenty that you just ignored, racist biggatory about monsters and crap, as far as you had seen, monsters were ok in your book. The skeleton crew, heh.. Nice one self, had been fairly fun and entertaining, and you were actually looking forward to your next shift.</p>
<p>	Fast food didn’t pay nearly enough, but you had a small side gig to keep you afloat. Buying and selling junk you found either at thrift shops, alongside the road, or wherever, fixing it up and listed it as ‘up-cycled’ or whatever crap people were labeling throwing on stuff these days to get things sold.</p>
<p>	It still amused the hell out of you, how people in larger cities would think your scavenge, repaired, and repainted goods were worth anything.. But then again, the same coffee table you had your feet on at the moment had been among the first of your finds. You loved the old thing the moment you spotted it, a little love, sweat, and elbow grease.. As well as some nice silver paint, and it fit perfectly in your mismatched lifestyle. </p>
<p>	A small thunk, a scrap of your spoon along the now empty container had you giving it the stink eye, they had to be making these cartons smaller.. No way you just sat here and ate the entire thing in one sitting, right? Right.. Oh woe and misery, your beloved treasure now sat happily in your belly with no more to enjoy. “Well.. guess that’s the end of that.”</p>
<p>	Clicking off the tv, you had already seen that episode at least three times over by now, you made short work of disposing of the trash and chucking the spoon in the sink to deal with later.. You did however meander over to give your small hanging plant in your kitchen window a little love and some water. Say what you would, this little bit of spider ivy had withstood even your lack of a green thumb.</p>
<p>	“Let’s see.. Food, meds, plant.. Check. I would say this was a good day all in all!” Yep, there you were, adulting it up a storm. Standing in your kitchen, granny panties, tank top, mussed hair and happy as a clam. Running a hand through the tangled mop you called your hair, you couldn’t help but laugh, all in all, life was pretty damn good.</p>
<p>	Shuffling out of the kitchen, yawning, you weighed the options before you. Nap and wake up at some god forsaken hour, or actually put on some pants and do something. “Noo.. not pants..” You half whined as you shuffled along to your bedroom. </p>
<p>	Yeah, daytime self was all fun and games, but you had no desire to sit up with late night self anytime soon, late night self tended to worry too much and ended up leaving you an anxious mess the following day. Best to put on the dreaded pants, go outside and face the evil day star.. Or what was left of it anyway!</p>
<p>	Maybe you would pop by work for dinner after you had ran a few errands. Yeah that would make a half decent plan if any. It was a good thing you lived alone, or you might have gotten an earful over the state of your bed room. Shoving a pile of dirty clothes off the foot of your bed, to mingle and make friends with the rest on the floor, you searched for something clean.. And if not exactly clean, well clean enough, to head out for the day.</p>
<p>	Of course your uniform was nice and clean, you had at least three sets of the same outfit, all hung and pressed, waiting in your closet, and you would be damned if you put a stitch of it on before you had to. </p>
<p>	“Ah ha!” Score! Clean shorts! Shorts beat pants any day of the week! Shimming into them, you snagged one of your over-sized tees, it hid all the evidence of all the cartons of ice cream you had killed over the years.. Yeah the love handles you hated but really weren’t motivated enough to actually do the dreaded die with a t on the end.. Diet, ugh.. Even thinking about the word gave you the shivers.  No kale for you, thank you very much!</p>
<p>	Shorts, check. Tee, check. Wallet, keys, scrunchie? All check! You were ready to face the day! Well almost! Stopping by the bathroom to give your teeth a good cleaning, hey if you did anything right, it was taking care of your teeth, as well as to collect an old necklace you kept tucked away in the medicine cabinet for when you had to go out and face the world.</p>
<p>	It was just some piece of junk you had found while savaging, but you liked it well enough. Your ‘chaos necklace’ as you called it, a thin silver chain with a small collection of most likely plastic or glass gems clustered in a pendant. It might have been really pretty at one point, but somewhere along the line, before it fell into your hands, the pendant had been melted and scrunched in on itself, till all it really looked like, was a lump of silver with some shiny bits. Chaos, just like your life, and you loved it!</p>
<p>	That was part of the reason you called it your chaos necklace, that and when you wore it, the craziest shit happened. One time you had worn it to a flea market, and had won a raffle you didn’t remember entering, another time you had worn it on a trip to the store and your car broke down.. Chaos wasn’t always a good thing. Of course you had it tucked in your uniform shirt last night, so it seemed chaos was swinging in your favor once more, might as well run with it.. Who knows, you might run into your new bone buddies again.</p>
<p>	Snickering to yourself, you double checked yourself for everything you needed, noted a toe was poking through one of the new holes in your favorite socks, shrugged and slipped your feet into some well loved slides. Fashion be damned, you liked your comfort!</p>
<p>	“Off to where the wind takes me! Watch the house while I am away, Simon!” Simon, the spider plant, just sat as silent as ever. “Good boy!” And off you went, seeing where your feet and the day would lead.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm just having fun with this.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Fuck Shopping!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You make a new friend! Sort of..</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Keep in mind, this story is just for fun, and well, it flows how it flows.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fuck shopping. Fuck people who panic and buy EVERY DAMN LAST ROLE OF TOILET PAPER, and fuck people who trash stores! You grumbled, shouldering one of your reusable shopping bags as you tried to find some much needed supplies.</p>
<p>	Seriously, you had already, on your walk to the store, skimmed over a few stories on your phone, about people hoarding or price gouging supplies and well.. It was making you more than just a little hot under the collar!</p>
<p>	Some people, the nerve! Grumbling, you rounded an endcap to the nest aisle, you stopped your fussing in your tracks as you spotted a certain someone you hadn’t expected to see again anytime soon. “Thank you chaos necklace!” You grinned as you whispered your thanks to the little bit of twisted silver and glimmering stones that sat tucked away beneath your shift collar.</p>
<p>	Sans! Your grin had to be ear to ear as you squared back your shoulders and made your way over to greet your town’s newest resident, well one of them anyway. “Hey you, got a bone to pick with you!” You called out, of course the jovial tone of your voice would be a dead give away that you were not in an ill mood, but you still snickered at the way the lazy skeleton nearly leap three feet!</p>
<p>	“Hehe.. Sorry man, couldn’t help myself, you nearly jumped out of your skin there.” Ah man, here you go, well at least you knew from your first encounter with him, that Sans seemed to enjoy some puns.. Maybe even enough to forgive you for startling him like that!</p>
<p>	Holding a hand over where his soul must be, you felt a *little* bad for scaring him, not much mind you, but a little! Your mirth died down as you found that he wasn’t grinning however.. He was staring right at you with large, dark eye sockets..</p>
<p>	“Dude.. you ok? It was a joke.. And when did you.. Holy hell Sans! What the entire fuck happened to your skull? Oh man, tell me someone didn’t do that since I saw you less then four hours ago! Who the hell did it? I will plant my size nines right up their ass so hard they will be flossing with my boot strings!”</p>
<p>	Yeah, the gaping head.. Skull wound had caught your attention right away, but your little anger fueled rant there seemed to snap Sans out of his dazed glare. You were quick to observe several things happen in the space of a few seconds. First was the return of his eye.. Light? One large, fat, bloated red eye light.. As well as the snarl along his teeth dip down into a confused frown, up again when you mentioned his wound, and then curiously.. Into a sly chuckle as you continued.</p>
<p>	“Easy tiger.. I think you have me mistaken for Somebony else. Mind lending me a hand here?” Well, at least he wasn’t angry with you. Somebony? You grinned, shrugged and glanced to where he was pointing. Huh.. That had to be what you could only claim to be an industrial size bottle of ketchup.. And pretty high up too! </p>
<p>	“Sure thing man, but hey since I’m helping you out here, and since I made such a major ass of myself, mind tossing me the old nom de plume here? Whatcha name, bone man?” You couldn’t help it, and you were glad to see his grin tip up just a bit more, even if it was a bit.. Unhinged, oh well.. Not every skeleton could have that award winning smile, now could they?</p>
<p>	“Sure thing.. But first, a hand will ya?” Giving another shrug, you reached up to fetch the requested item, and snatched back your hand as something swiftly swept right over where you had been reaching a moment before.</p>
<p>	Shifting your eyes to the not Sans before you, you once again observed a shift in his demeanor. Annoyance, you knew that look well when it flashed over his eye light, as well as interest, but he kept his smile in place.. Had he just tried to attack you?</p>
<p>	“How about.. This one instead?” You murmured, backing up a few feet and swiping up a smaller bottle from a lower shelf.  Not Sans chuckled, more to himself then anything from the looks of it, and you might have caught him muttering “Was worth a shot..” </p>
<p>	As he plucked the bottle from your grasp, you kept a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t try anything funny. “Thank’s kid.. Hey you wanted the old name, right?” You nodded slowly, not so sure you wanted to know more about this skeleton after all.</p>
<p>	“Name’s Sans..But I would guess you already met someone with that name, so why not be calling a new pal, Axe?” He held out his hand and several red lights flashed in your mind. Thinking quickly, you shook your head, held up your own hand, making a V by keeping your index and middle finger together, while your ring and pinky stuck together as well. “Heh.. sorry Axe, gotta give you the old live long and prosper, can’t be shaking hands right now.. Not with the whole pandemic thing going on.”</p>
<p>	Score one for remembering that sign, as well as making up a reasonable excuse on the fly. He gave you a long, hard stare for several moments then finally chuckled, and returned the salute. “And humans think I’m strange.. Alright kid, I suspect we will bump into each other again, real soon.”</p>
<p>	Alright.. Time to ‘fuck this shit I’m out’ right now. Execute escape plan alpha, repeat escape plan alpha, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, time to boogie right on out of here!  </p>
<p>	“Yeah, yeah sounds good. Well.. Have a nice one..Axe..” The uneasiness in your voice was evident, but years of customer service came to your aid again and kept your smile in place as you back peddled as quickly and calmly as you could.. Only to run into something large, firm.. And alive,</p>
<p>	‘Please don’t be a scary skeleton, please don’t be a scary skeleton..Please be something nice..’ The new mantra in your head repeated itself as you slowly tipped your head up and.. ‘Fuck you, chaos necklace! Fuck you so hard!’</p>
<p>	Spooky scary skeleton indeed. Your brain processed everything as quickly as it could, while sending mayday messages to your bladder not to let it fly just yet! Jagged teeth, no you would call that nightmare of a mouth, fangs.. Stained red, oh sweet mercy you didn’t want to know why.. Tiny eye lights in large, empty sockets, and fuuuuccck this guy was tall! </p>
<p>	Several things came to mind, all with varying degrees of just how horribly your death was going to be, in the condiment aisle, and the day had been going so well up until now. Worrying your lip with your teeth, you tried to find a good excuse, or at least something half decent to be etched on your tombstone, when Mister Bad Smile grinned and promptly.. Murdered your ear drums.</p>
<p>	“SANS! YOU MADE A NEW FRIEND? HOW WONDERFUL! HUMAN, YOU MUST TELL ME YOUR NAME AT ONCE!”</p>
<p>	Where you being picked up under your armpits and spun around like a child in a large, imposing adult’s grasp? Yep you sure were.. Hold on bladder..</p>
<p>	“I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! THOUGH, I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT I AM SUPPOSE TO BE GOING BY THE NAME CROOKS.. I DON’T CARE FOR THE NAME AT ALL, WHAT DO YOU THINK?”</p>
<p>	“Yeah, Pal.. what do you think?” Oh you did NOT like how Axe’s voice, far too close to your back now, sounded just then. Ok brain, over drive mode, think think think! Your gaze shifted quickly.. Crooked teeth.. Well that had to be why he had the nickname and easy to tell why he didn’t like it, and from the sound of the skeleton's voice behind you.. It was easy to tell that Axe was not fond of the name either..</p>
<p>	Think think think! Ugh.. what was around you.. Ketchup? Mustard.. Steak sauce.. Not helpful! Ah way.. Honey.. Honey is sweet, sweet? “Sugar!” You blurted out, and paled at your own poor excuse for a new nickname.<br/>	The skeleton squinted, his smile now a firm line as he mused over your sudden exclamation and just as you thought they would be mopping up your guts on aisle seven.. You were pulled into the most painful, pokey hug of your life and spun about as the large skeleton gave off an almost girlish squeal!</p>
<p>	“YOU HEAR THAT SAN..AXE?! THE HUMAN SAYS I SHOULD BE CALLED SUGAR! CLEARLY THEY ARE TAKEN WITH JUST HOW ENDEARING I TRULY AM! AH HUMAN!”  Thank the stars, the spinning stopped.. But you were still being held aloft by your armpits..</p>
<p>	“HUMAN, NEW FRIEND! I DO LOVE THE NEW NAME, SO YES! FROM HERE ON OUT, I , THE GREAT PAPY..THE GREAT CROOKS”  He grimaced at that old nickname. “SHALL NOW BE KNOWN AS SUGAR! THANK YOU DEAR HUMAN.. NOW, WHAT SHALL I CALL YOU? OH AND I NEED TO GET YOUR NUMBER, I NEED TO BE ABLE TO TEXT YOU, SINCE YOU ARE SUCH A WONDERFUL JUDGE OF CHARACTER, UNLIKE MOST HUMANS WE HAVE MET, AND I THINK YOU ARE WORTHY OF BEING A LONG STANDING FRIEND TO THE GREAT SUGAR!”</p>
<p>	Ok, so he was loud.. Scary.. But damn if he wasn’t living up to the name already.  Slightly trembling as you were sat down on your feet at last, you fumbled for your phone, your brain now too frazzled from everything that had taken place, to actually absorb what you were doing as you handed it over for Sugar to add his information.</p>
<p>In return, you were soon tapping out your own, to which a heavy arm landed on your shoulder, Axe grinning non-existent  ear to non-existent ear as he loomed, leaning against you.. He was surprisingly heavy for someone made up of bones. “Good call, kid.” He muttered, yeah it was one hell of a good call!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phones returned, well Sugar’s, your own being swiped up by Axe for him to add his own information and send himself a message. Once back in your possession,you pocketed your phone, and was soon skeleton free as Axe leaned back against the shelves of condiments, eyeing you with sadistic glee.</p>
<p>Sugar, nearly killing your ears further, bid you a fond farewell, plucked up his brother with one hand and rested him against his hip as he turned, mentioning something about a lack of meat in the store’s deli as he walked off.. That large red eye light watching you closely till Sugar finally turned away out of sight.</p>
<p>Hand over your heart, you made a promise NOT to antagonize the next skeleton you meet.. and to march yourself right over to the healthcare section of the store.. Maybe you could find a good cane or something to defend yourself with! You had a sinking feeling you would be seeing Axe very soon.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh poor reader.. a cane isn't going to be very helpful!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. I can’t sleep so I must write!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Couldn't sleep so I started writing! You realize something is off when you get home, and soon have some uninvited guest over.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was an idiot and consumed caffeine too close to bedtime. Arg.. well here we go!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Groceries purchased, heart finally settled from your scare, and now on your way home, you mused over the last few hours. In the span of one day more or less, you had met a car full of skeletons, and then ran into what had to be a very violent relative.. Sure did look  a lot like Sans, even said that was his given name, but apparently had to go by a nickname? Huh.. curious.. You wondered if monsters had some sort of first name being their sire name or something, that would explain the shared names, but then again, you had met Papyrus at the drive in, and Sugar had even  claimed to have the shared name.. Man monsters, they were something else. Maybe it was a skeleton thing?</p>
<p>	Maybe you were thinking too hard on the matter. Yawning as you made your way home, you were still pretty amped from your scare, but a long shift as well as the adrenaline wearing off was beginning to take its toll. Sure you could catch the bus, but if there was one thing you were certain of, it was that the bus was a one way ticket to the plague, no thank you!</p>
<p>	Were the buses even still running? Ah well, something for you to worry about later. New checklist to go.. Home, put away groceries, shower, bad tv, bed.. Maybe skip the tv.. You were tempted to skip the shower, but one pass of your hand over your greasy hair nixed that idea right away. </p>
<p>	Finally home, you greeted Simon, gave the plant a little spritz from the water bottle you kept near by, and told ‘him’ about your day as you unpacked. You frowned as you surveyed the horrendous amount of snacks you had purchased.. So much for staying on budget! You had to remind yourself again why you had decided to go shopping so soon.. Puzzled, you ticked back the day.. That was odd, it seemed, at the store, as though you had just left your shift, yet you KNEW you had plopped your butt on your couch for a good while and even ate way too much ice cream, hell the carton was still..</p>
<p>	It was gone.</p>
<p>	Ok full brain freak out moment! Rushing back to your kitchen, you threw open the freezer to find, well it wasn’t the flavor your remembered eating, but there was a freshly purchased carton of birthday cake ice cream just waiting for you to gobble up!</p>
<p>	“..What the blue fuckity is going on? Am I finally losing it? Has fast food fumes fried my brain?” This, this was too much to try and wrap your brain around. Shutting the fridge door, you did the only logical thing. Tossed your hands straight up, said the hell with it, and went to bed!<br/>	The next day found you well rested, and hating the fact you skipped that shower. That was easily remedied once you pried yourself out of bed.  One hot shower later, you were in your kitchen, towel wrapped firmly in place, hair still dripping wet, bare foot and loving every second of your free time as you looked over your cereal selection.</p>
<p>	“Hot or cold, hot or cold.. Hot it is! Come here Dino egg oatmeal you delicious little treasure you!” This talking to yourself habit was getting out of control, but hey at least you were in good company!</p>
<p>	Plopping down on your couch, you tried to dismiss the deja vu you got, knowing full well that not too long ago, you had done the same thing, but lacked the evidence to prove it. Flipping through the tv, you grumbled aloud about how “They are ruining all the good cartoons!” Great, another old favorite being redone and dumbed down.</p>
<p>	“No wonder this country is going straight down the tubes.” You grumped as you blew over a spoonful of piping hot oatmeal. Flipping a few more channels, you found one that rerun classics, some older then you but still good! The perfect start to a strange day.</p>
<p>	You were well into your bowl when a ping came from your phone.  Now who could that be? Setting the bowl aside, you arched a brow at the message.. In all caps..</p>
<p>	“HUMAN! MY COUSINS HAVE INSISTED THAT I SHARE YOUR NUMBER WITH THEM. DO NOT BE SURPRISED IF THEY SHOULD MESSAGE YOU.. I AM SORRY FOR SHARING YOUR INFORMATION, BUT I JUST HAD TO SHARE THE STORY OF HOW I, THE GREAT SUGAR, GOT MY NEW NAME! THANK YOU AGAIN, OH AND HUMAN! I HOPE YOUR WEEKEND IS FREE, MY BROTHER HAS BEEN MAKING DINNER PLANS AND WANTS YOU TO JOIN US!”</p>
<p>Oh nope! No no no no, not dinner, no way in hell, not going to happen.. Sugar was a sweetie though, you would have to figure out a way to politely decline.. Hmm.. Glancing back to the tv, a small scrolling box of text on the bottom of the screen gave you the prefect out.. News about the virus!</p>
<p>“Sorry Sugar, I can’t make it. We’re supposed to stay isolated during the crisis, I hope you understand! I wouldn’t want to risk catching the virus and making you or your family sick, maybe another time? Thanks!” </p>
<p>You felt kinda bad about it, but at the same time.. You really wanted to keep some distance between Axe and yourself.. Your thoughts were cut short by another ping, and as you read over the message, your heart dropped like lead in your chest.</p>
<p>“SILLY HUMAN! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MAKING ANY OF US SICK, NOR DO YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING ILL! WE ARE IMMUNE TO YOUR HUMAN VIRUSES AND ILLNESSES, ACTUALLY IT IS SAFER FOR YOU TO BE VISITING A MONSTER THEN TO BE VISITING ANYONE ELSE! AXE WANTS YOU TO KNOW, THAT HE IS ON HIS WAY OVER TO SEE YOU RIGHT NOW.. SOMETHING ABOUT HAVING FOUND YOUR LOCATION? HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD AT HUNTING.. ERR.. I MEAN, LOCATING PEOPLE! OH AND EDGE IS WITH HIM, MY BROTHER HAS A TENDENCY TO FORGET WHERE HE IS GOING, SO EDGE IS THERE TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING TURNS OUT OK. WE WILL SEE YOU SOON!”</p>
<p>Well fuck, how were you going to get out of..HOW DID HE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVED?! Ok breath! Full panic mode has set in! Air in, air out, think think.. Ok so he was going to have Edge with him.. Did that name ring a bell? You would have to see when they got here.. At least someone in the household had the bright idea to make sure Axe didn’t show up alone! You REALLY did not like the idea of him at your doorstep..</p>
<p>You really hoped you were not about to have to take a restraining order out against your town’s first monster inhabitants.. That would be really bad PR all the way around, plus you really didn’t like the idea of being scared for your life all the time!</p>
<p>Losing track of time as you paced in your living room, you weighed your options over and over again, when a loud knocking startled you out of your thoughts. The way the person on the other side banged on your pretty yellow door, you were certain it was going to splinter! </p>
<p>Hurrying over, you threw the door open to find two very surprised, one surly, one ..strangely quiet, pair of skeletons staring at you. The one that had to be Edge.. ah ha yes you had heard his name somewhere along the way.. He was the grumpy guts in the car at the drive thru!</p>
<p>Your attention however, shifted from Edge, who had begun to turn an interesting shade of pink and then scarlet, to Axe who was.. Would eye balling be the right word? He was giving you a good once over. Glancing down, you squeaked and slammed the door right in their faces!</p>
<p>“Holy shit! Sorry guys, one moment!” Of course you had forgotten to change and answered the door in a towel.. Brain, get in gear already! Tossing on whatever was clean, which turned out to be a set of overall cut short, and a sunny yellow tee, you slipped your feet into your favorite slides, pulled your hair back in a scrunchie and gave greeting the skeletons a take two.</p>
<p>This time around, Edge had managed to fight down the rich red hues, to just blazing cherry along his high, pointed cheek bones, and Axe? Well his grin had taken on a rather disturbing delight that you did not want to investigate, you could only imagine what was going through that damaged skull of his.</p>
<p>“So.. I take it that you are my escorts for the day..?” You gave a weak chuckle, to which Edge narrowed his gaze, huffed, pulled you by your arm right out of your apartment and into the narrow hallway, shutting your door behind you. Rude much?!</p>
<p>“HUMAN.. WE HAVE WASTED ENOUGH TIME WAITING ON YOU, THE TERRIBLE EDGE DOES NOT HAVE ALL DAY TO DEVOTE TO YOUR DILLYDALLYING. COME ALONG..”</p>
<p>Turning on his heel in what had to be the world’s edgiest fuck me boots you had ever seen, seriously.. Why did someone so tall need heels? You stared at his retreating backside for a few moments till you realized you were ogling a rather rude skeleton.. And slowly shifted your gaze to the leering creeper next to you.. Yep rude skeleton time it is, not hanging around Axe any longer then you had to!</p>
<p>Hurrying to keep up with his stride, you glanced over your shoulder to see that shark like grin over Axe’s features, his red eye light following you.. And you got the distinct feeling that a rabbit might get when being stared down by a hungry fox. Not a very good feeling at all!</p>
<p>“Just how did you two find me anyway..?” You tried to keep your breath even while also trying to match those insanely long strides, your question however, caused Edge to slow, pause, and then turn his irritated glare to his cousin. “AXE..”</p>
<p>Guilty skeleton in question, just shrugged with a grin, hands in his hoodie pockets and strolled on ahead of the pair of you. “I got a nose for these things..” He tapped the space over his empty nasal cavity. If you weren’t creeped out at the moment, you might have found it amusing. MIGHT have.</p>
<p>“AXE..!” Oh you could almost see the steam coming off Edge, but Axe just nonchalantly made his way down the hallway, to the awaiting staircase. “Yeah yeah, bitch me out later when we don’t have a human in tow.. Now, pal.” His gaze settled on you, and you just wanted to shrink down and vanish right then and there.</p>
<p>“..Bro’s waiting.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Short I know, but finally getting sleepy. :3 I hope you enjoyed this little addition, I doubt I will post more than once a day after this, but I just wanted to have this little scene pop up and since I was awake at 1 am, why not?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Ah ah ah ah Stayin alive!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You are left with more then a few questions and more confusion as the day goes on! Axe is.. creepy..</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We're going on a trip on our magic rocket.. skeleton shoulder!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The walk, if you could call it a walk and not a jog, to the skeleton household was one hell of a roller coaster for your poor brain. Not only were you on constant alert cause of Axe, but Edge seemed even moodier as time went on. Finally after three blocks, he placed his hands on his hips, snarled with frustration and turned to be nasal cavity to nose with you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“IS IT ANY POSSIBLE THAT YOU COULD WALK ANY SLOWER, HUMAN?! I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO KEEP MY PACE EVEN, AND THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS DOES NOT LIKE TO BE DELAYED. WELL SPEAK UP! WHAT EXCUSE DO YOU HAVE?”</p>
<p>Holding a hand up, the other on your knee as you tried to catch your breath, Edge was given a moment to look over this strange little human who had been the cause of his disrupted morning. Sweaty, great it was leaking.. He could hear their heart race from where he stood, of course he could, each of his skills had been honed to a precise talent, and they were.. Well, red. Splotchy red. He huffed with annoyance, clearly this human did not get the proper amount of exercise to be so winded already. Only one thing to be done for it.</p>
<p>“COME ALONG NOW!” </p>
<p>The next thing you knew, once again you had been hoisted up by a ridiculously tall skeleton and.. Plopped down over his shoulder. You were grateful at least that he had been mindful of his spikey pauldrons, last thing you needed was to be skewered on one of those!</p>
<p>Not that having yourself placed over hard armor was much better than half running after the skeleton, but at least now you could keep an eye on Axe as he lazily trailed behind the pair of you. It was funny in an odd sort of way, how these skeletons not only had any concerns with social distancing, but how easily they could pluck you up.. Could almost give a bit of a confidence boost, if it wasn’t for the fact you knew exactly how much you weighed, anyone else would have been hard pressed to carry you around like a child, but these skeletons made it look far too easy. Mental note, skeleton monsters are insanely strong and clearly need lessons on social norms!</p>
<p>Well, not much to do then enjoy the ride as much as you could, you were going to get sore from being carried this way, fairly quickly. At least it would give you a chance to cool down before you reached your destination.. A destination that happened to be another four blocks down, three roads, and off a beaten path into a section of town which at one time had been farmland! Looking around curiously, you wondered why they didn’t just drive to pick you up? Then of course it dawned on you as you catch that bloated red eye light following your every move.. You had been tracked. Of course.</p>
<p>You were going to have to have a serious talk with Sans about boundaries and maybe keeping an eye light on his more unhinged cousin.  As you pondered over the delicate way you were going to have to bring up, your attention snapped at once to a loud bleat of some sheep!</p>
<p>You swung your legs happily, to witch you found a firm arm placed over them as you wiggled, squirmed and pointed out to a flock of sheep not far from the road, safely nestled away in a pasture. “Lookit! That one there, it is freaking adorable!”</p>
<p>Of course you had zeroed in on the one black lamb trotting along behind the rest of the flock. It was so adorable that it brought out an almost childish nature in you, to point it out and gush over how cute and sweet it was.</p>
<p>Turning your attention back to Axe, to of course gush some more over the lamb, you found that he had just vanished. Gone. Now where the hell did he get off to? “Um.. Edge.. Where did Axe go..?”</p>
<p>“EH?!” Turning about, looking around for any sign of the errant skeleton, he gave a rather over dramatic sigh and shook his skull. “LAZY, ALL OF THEM! HE MOST LIKELY TOOK A SHORTCUT HOME.” You were intrigued, if there was a shortcut, why weren’t you two taking it? Voicing this question, you got a rather confused reply.</p>
<p>“...HIS SHORTCUTS ARE.. SPECIAL. NOT SOMETHING THAT EVEN I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS, IS CAPABLE OF DOING. NOW ENOUGH QUESTIONS.”</p>
<p>Sighing heavily, you propped your elbows where you could and held your face in your hands as you watched the scenery go by. Glancing out to the field, you were sad to see that you couldn’t spot the pretty little lamb, and chalked it up to the fact that some of the sheep were resting, and it must have been hidden behind one of them.</p>
<p>After what seemed an absurdly long walk, you were unceremoniously plucked up off Edge’s shoulders, dropped on the ground before an aged but well cared for farm house and shoved forward. “Ok ok I get it, human goes inside!” </p>
<p>Glancing back over your shoulder, you arched an eye brow at the smug grin your little statement had earned. “SEEMS YOU CAN LEARN.. THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU AFTER ALL, HUMAN.. IN FACT, AFTER THIS MEETING IS OVER, WE WILL DISCUSS YOUR NEW DAILY EXERCISE REGIMEN!”</p>
<p>Say who to the what now? Oh no no no no, so many times over no! You sputtered, and were pretty sure you were blue in the face from how you kept swallowing your words, looking for the right one to tell this skeleton just where he got off, but before you could utter a single well placed jab, you were ushered up the steps and to the door.</p>
<p>Polite society deems you should knock first, but seeing as how you had been summoned here, carried like a sack of potatoes, and then insulted.. Well social rules could go shove it. Pulling the screen door back, you opened the front door and called out.</p>
<p>“Honey I’m home!” Hey if you were going to be carried here, you were going to be a bit of an ass about it! What you did not expect, was for someone to actually answer your call.</p>
<p>“You rang?” A lanky skeleton who looked just a bit too much like Edge, but.. Softer? Made his way down the staircase not far from where you stood in the entryway. His lazy grin reminded you of Sans’, as well as his posture, though you had to admit, the orange hoodie was a step up from a well worn parka. </p>
<p>“I err well you see the thing is..” You stumbled over your words, and was soon enough elbowed out of the way as Edge stormed past you, grumbling the entire time.</p>
<p>“I FETCHED YOUR SILLY LITTLE PET, AND I MADE SURE AXE BEHAVED, THOUGH I HAVE NO IDEA, NOR DO I CARE, WHERE HE HAS GONE. NOW.. DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU PLANNED TO DO WITH THEM, AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE FOR THE NEXT HOUR!”</p>
<p>Well fuck you too Mister Happy. You might not have been the world’s best guest or entertainment, but you were pretty sure you had been as decent enough company on your rather unplanned trip here, with what little conversation you were actually permitted to have.</p>
<p>Edge, thankfully, missed the way you flipped him off as he stormed past the other skeleton and up the stairs, each step a loud stomp, making you wonder how the stairs could handle it or for how long.</p>
<p>Turning your attention back to this more relaxed not Papyrus, you shrugged and did the only thing you could think to do in an awkward situation, you waved. This brought a chuckle from the skeleton who waved with a .. oh was that a bottle of honey in his hand? Your palm met your forehead with a loud smack. “For the love of all that is holy! Of course you appeared when I called out like that!”</p>
<p>Laughing, he made his way over to you, reached past you to shut the door, which you now found was right up against your back. Peering up as he tilted his skull down to give you a good once over, you got another distinct sensation of prey being observed, but not in the way you had with Axe, this one was less worrying and more.. Intriguing. </p>
<p>Down girl, you reminded yourself, don’t go mixing signals just because you have been single for.. Fuck it has been a long time hasn’t it? Of course your body betrayed you by flushing pink up along your neck, cheeks and up to your ears. Stupid blush!</p>
<p>Every hair stood on end as he lowered his skull close, his teeth but a breath away from the shell of your ear, breath that you noted carried a sticky sweet aroma of honey as well as the lingering scent of smoke, not a terrible aroma mind you. You held your breath however, trying to will your heart to stop racing.</p>
<p>“Name’s Stretch.”</p>
<p>With that, he pushed away from the door, turned to walk away and made a motion over his shoulder for you to follow. Holding a hand over your heart, you ran through every mental checklist on how to calm yourself, as well as wondering what the entire blue fuck had just happened?</p>
<p>These skeletons were going to be the death of you one way or another!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Stretch you tease.. Axe please tell me you left the lamb alone! Edge.. you're an ass!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Meeting the Crew stage one: Play nice now.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You did your best to leave your embarrassment at the door as you followed that tongue tongued devil known as Stretch. The simple but quaint wooden floorboards creaked beneath your feet but not in a creepy old abandoned house sort of way, more in a homey, lived in sound that normally would have had you dreaming up imagines of who might have lived here before the monsters moved in. </p>
<p>Had you the peace of mind, you could have imagined the scent of freshly baked bread and cookies, a chorus of rowdy children’s laughter ring in your ears, and pictured a large but loving family going about their daily business. As it was however, all you could picture at the moment, was what had just taken place, and where your filthy mind could take it. Chiding yourself for your too easily won over libido, you kept in step with the ridiculously tall skeleton.. Seriously, who needs to be THAT tall? And he was slouching nonetheless!</p>
<p>You had half a mind to grumble about it, being a bit on the short side yourself, well.. There was more than one tall shelf which had earned a few well placed four letter words from you over the years. Your mind drifted for a moment, back to the grocery and it dawned on you.. Axe stood at least a good foot over you, so why did he need your help to begin with? You were also reminded of just why you had learned to fear him.. You hadn’t caught sight, exactly, what it was that swung at your wrist, but thank the stars you have moved when you did!</p>
<p>“Hey.. Stretch?” You called out to your guide as he lead you from the hallway, to an adjoining sitting room, the shift in decor was not startling but it was welcoming. Your eyes traveled over the aged, but still lovely forest green carpet, fern patterned wallpaper, and some of the odd collection of furniture which made up the room. </p>
<p>“Yeah Honey?” He glanced over his shoulder with that lazy, sly grin that just needed to be dealt with, but you cooled your jets and reminded yourself, no jumping the skeleton just because he is asking to be smooched.</p>
<p>Besides, you needed to talk to someone about Axe and his behavior! “Its about Axe..” You toyed with one of the straps of your overalls, which now that you thought about it, was very fitting concerning the setting. </p>
<p>Stretch’s gaze darkened at the name, his grin fading to a firm frown as he now turned fully to face you, and to your surprise, his fingers clasped your chin, turning your head from one side to the other as he looked you over, then turned his attention to your hands and wrists. “He hurt you?” The question was grave, filled with implication and judgement if you were not mistaken,</p>
<p>“No! No no, no he didn’t” You stuttered, still not used to how touchy feely and up close and personal this skeleton was being. Though his concern was genuine and it touched your heart to know that even though the pair of you had just met, he was already on alert of his wayward kin.</p>
<p>“I mean, he might have.. Had I been slower, not sure.. Look, the thing is, I didn’t tell him where I lived, and the fact that he showed up.. Thank you by the way for sending Edge along, at my doorstep, well it hits a lot of bad signs and kinda has me more than a bit spooked! Can you.. Talk to him? Please?”</p>
<p>A span of a few seconds seemed to take eons as your words tumbled past your lips, and it was within that time you found yourself looking anywhere but into those bright eye lights. Even though his sockets were empty, save for those pinpoints of light, you felt the weight of the world rested behind them. Call it a sixth sense for the sort of thing, but it was the kind of way you learned to read people before they could even place an order, it was something you had picked up after so much time filling requests as well as listening to more than one tale of woe.</p>
<p>This skeleton, had seen some shit, that was for certain. But those intense eye lights, filled with worry, well you couldn’t really lock onto them for too long, it was strange but it felt as though he was doing more then the ‘concerned family member’ act. It felt as though, in the blink of an eye, he was reading you as you read him, perhaps on a deeper level.. You were unnerved and yet again touched by the fact.</p>
<p>A rather loud cough, as one might do to clear their throat had the pair of you jump. You realized that during all of that, he had been holding to your hands, which he had quickly released, holding his own up as if he had been caught nipping some sweets from the cookie jar.</p>
<p>“Interrupting, am I?”  Mother have mercy, these skeletons were going to give you a heart attack before the day was over! Holding a hand over said heart, your gaze shifted over to a rather large grin plastered over a smug face, a face you had seen not too long before.</p>
<p>Golden fang, lazy as any of the lot seemed to be, red lines beneath his sockets which seemed more like bags than some sort of strange monster make up, ah yes you remember this one. “Red!” You exclaimed, your own grin returning. It was your rather foul mouth flirty buddy from the drive thru! </p>
<p>That shark tooth grin grew wider as you called out his name. Hands in his pockets, you almost missed the stink eye Stretch was tossing his way as he joined the pair of you in the sitting room. Throwing an arm about your shoulders, you found yourself being guided to what had to be the world’s lumpiest looking couch with stars only knows what the stains were that covered it.</p>
<p>“Doll, you remembered! Makes this old bag of bones feel young again.” He winked at you, plopping down onto the couch and bringing you down with him. You laughed as you found the heavily worn bit of furniture to be much more comfortable then it appeared.. Even if it did smell a bit musty.</p>
<p>“Never forget a handsome face like yours.” You chimed in, not minding how the skeleton hugged you to his side, you were getting used to how clearly comfortable these boys were with carting you around and stuff, must be a monster thing. </p>
<p>“Here that Stretch, think’s my handsome.” Oh that was a cocky as hell tone if you ever heard one. Giggling to yourself, you glanced over to Stretch who was.. Pouting? Oh yes. The full grown monster was slouching further into his hoodie as he plopped down beside you, and making a point to snake his arm about your waist, pulling you off and away from Red.</p>
<p>It was.. Silly, but kinda sweet they wanted your attention. You would have to nip it in the bud quickly though, didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings of course. Then again.. Would you be insulting them if you raised any questions about their behavior? Best to wait it out a bit longer… You almost missed the hiss that went right over your head, as Stretch leaned over you, trying to keep his voice low. “S’not how we play the game, Red!”</p>
<p>“What game?” Ok now you had questions..</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Dinner and a movie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>And you guys were worried X3</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Agh, had the worst case of writer’s block on both of my stories (the two I am working on at least)!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A chill settled over the room once the words had passed your lips, you were unsure if you had just insulted them somehow, or if it was the fact you had called the skeletons on the game at hand. “Um.. Doll, how exactly did he word his invite, ya know what, forget it. Here, Stretch and I will take you out for a nice meal.. No need to worry about..”</p>
<p>“Worry about who, Red?”</p>
<p>You had no idea a certain skeleton could become paler than bone,  but it was an interesting sight to see, he actually reminded you of a startled cat with how even the fur on his jacket collar stood on end. Of course the reason was pretty easy to guess. How on earth Axe had snuck up behind Red without any of you taking notice, well it was beyond your comprehension at the moment. One thing you did know for certain, was that Axe had that same uneasy, unstable gleam in his eye light as his sharp phalanges wrapped over Red’s shoulder. Best to defuse this situation pronto!</p>
<p>“Axe! Just the skeleton I wanted to see!” You exclaimed as you stepped around the couch to where Axe stood, gently removing his hand from Red. For your efforts, he didn’t lash out, but stared at you in the most peculiar way ever. He was giving you the sort of look one might give the last swallow of orange juice left in the fridge. Seriously, just drain the container, don’t leave only one gulp left! Talk about rude.. But back to the look he was giving you, it was a mix of what you might be misinterpreting to be adoration and wonder, with a heavy dose of unbridled anger. </p>
<p>Placing his hand on your arm, you motioned for him to lead the way, while three other skeletons watched on in a mix of fear and confusion, poor Blue stumbling over his words as he tried to call out to you, but found Stretch had placed his own hand before Blue’s chest.</p>
<p>“Hold on.. I think she’s got this.”</p>
<p>You would have to remember to thank him later, for his trust in you, if things went the way you were hoping they would. It took a little coaxing to get him moving, and you noted the , well you would call it adorable if it were on anyone else, the faintest dusting of crimson along his features as he blushed, tucked himself further into his dirty parka and mumbled something under his breath, leading you out of the sitting room and across the hall which made up the entryway, to a very quaint little kitchen and adjoining dining area. </p>
<p>“Havin’ stew..Sugar’s really happy to have you join us..” Alright, for an unstable bean, he was starting to grow on you. You waved to Sugar, who was happily stirring something in a rather large stock pot, and from where you stood, it smelled insanely delicious. You were moments away from asking what was in the stew, when a faint bleat caught your attention.</p>
<p>Axe removed his hand from your arm, to place it at the small of your back and give you a little push towards the table. As you passed by Sugar, not being given much of a chance to stop and talk, you just shrugged at his brother’s odd behavior, and quirked a brow as the tall skeleton turned his face away and were his shoulders shaking with giggles? What were these two up to?</p>
<p>Making your way to the table, you sucked in a breath and tried to stifle the excited squeal as you spotted the most adorable scene possible. Sitting in a chair at the table, with the largest faded pink bow you had ever seen tied about it’s neck, a certain little black lamb was nibbling at a bowl of alfalfa that was placed on the table before it. As it raised its head, a small jingle of a bell just topped off the cuteness factor, and you couldn’t help but gush over how damn adorable the lamb was!</p>
<p>Hurrying over to it, you couldn’t hold back the excited baby talk and squeals of delight as you ran your fingers through the lamb’s soft wool, and if you were not mistaken, it had the distinct smell as though it had recently been groomed, washed and fluffed out dry.</p>
<p>Axe chuckled from where he stood, glancing back over his shoulder to a trio of some rather sour skeletons giving him the stink eye. Silently he mouthed “I win” as he made his way over to you.</p>
<p>Red was grinding his teeth as he watched Axe buddy up to you, even having the nerve to sling his arm over your shoulder, his teeth far too close to your ear as he spoke. Whatever he was saying to you, had you giggling like a schoolgirl, and Red was about ready to break some bones, when a firm hand was placed upon his shoulder. Glancing up, his snarl stifled as he took in Stretch’s stern glare as he watched the pair of you.</p>
<p>“..This isn’t over.”</p>
<p>Dinner turned out to be pretty amazing, Sugar was one hell of a cook! He seemed flustered when you asked for seconds, and at first you thought you had made a faux pas by doing so, but he seemed almost giddy as he ladled up another bowlful for you.<br/>The lamb, which Axe informed you that he would be more than happy to raise for you, here at the farm, was an absolute delight. You got the chance to name him, of course that was a bit of a struggle, till the perfect name popped in your mind ‘Baabaa” Yes, as in the old nursery rhyme. This of course had Axe snickering, Sugar shaking his head, and you grinning like an idiot. </p>
<p>You were curious why none of the other skeletons had joined your little dinner party, but Sugar assured you that he would make sure everyone was fed, and after all, Axe had invited you to dinner, not the rest of the house. A little strange, but then again, maybe he just wanted you to be full, comfortable , and relaxed before springing more family your way.. At least you suspected the others were family, since they lived here with the brothers.</p>
<p>After dinner, you were escorted back to the sitting room, where you happily sunk down into the couch, BaaBaa curled up behind your knees once you had settled in and had them tucked up onto the couch. Axe actually snuggled up to your side, idly playing with your hair, while Sugar wheeled in what looked like one of those old tv carts from public schools back in the early nineties, it was set up with a VHS player of all things. Yawning, full and content, you smiled sleepily at the tall skeleton as he held up a collection of various movies for you to pick from. A lot of them you had never heard of, but you decided on one you knew well ‘The Last Unicorn.’ A personal favorite, and one you knew enough that if the boys wanted to chat, well you wouldn’t miss anything.</p>
<p>Lights dimmed, you were slightly put off for a second by the strange red glow just out of the corner of your eye, till you realized it was actually Axe, the faint glow appearing between each exposed joint. Huh, must be another monster thing. Sugar settled in at the foot of the couch, leaning back against it so you could run your fingers along the crown of his skull, for such a big guy, he actually was pretty damn cute.. Like an overgrown puppy. </p>
<p>Halfway through the movie, you started to zone out, eyelids heavy, and though you tried to fight it, you couldn’t help but let your head rest against Axe’s shoulder, your eyes finally closing, and your breath evening out into a slow and steady pattern.</p>
<p>	The last thought to cross your mind before sleep took you, was that you would have to revisit your questions when you woke up. And to think you had been so scared of Axe before, you really had judged him wrong.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And you were all worried about the lamb XD I have to admit, I took some sadistic glee in the comments.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Meeting the Crew stage Two: The Morning After</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You tell Edge just what you think of him, and something strange is going on..</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Morning came in a flurry of activity, much of it you wished to drown out as you borrowed further into the all too comfortable parka of your current sleeping companion, but letting you sleep would have been a nice gesture on the part of the universe, and when it came to you and the universe, it rarely was kind. The pair of you shared a bit more of a snarky sort of relationship.</p>
<p>Woken by the harsh and ear splitting voice that could only belong to Edge, you glared towards the direction that nails on chalkboard voice was coming from, and after untangling yourself from a rather cuddly sleeping Axe, you padded as silently as possible over to the hallway to peek out at just what and who had gotten a stick firmly wedged up Edge’s backside this time. You were pretty sure that stick was firmly stuck, perhaps two or three at this point.</p>
<p>Following the ear piercing screeching, which actually came from not in the house, but outside.. Stars, hadn’t anyone ever asked him to take it down several notches? You didn’t even really need to try to keep the front door from squeaking, as Edge railed on at his brother, poor Red. You actually felt kinda bad for the lecherous skeleton as his much taller sibling ranted.</p>
<p>“HONESTLY, SANS! YOU LET THAT PATHETIC LUNATIC UP STAGE YOU ALREADY?! YOU ARE MORE PATHETIC THAN I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS GAVE YOU CREDIT FOR! NO! NOT ANOTHER WORD, CLEARLY YOU ARE TOO STUPID TO WIN OVER THE AFFECTIONS OF OUR SOULMATE, SO I WILL TAKE THE REINS FROM HERE. NO NEED TO WORRY, BROTHER, BY THE END OF THE DAY, SHE WILL BE BEGGING ME TO CLAIM HER!”</p>
<p>Well someone was right proud of himself and.. Wait a blue fuck?! What the hell did he just say?!  “What the hell are you talking about? And stop screaming at the buttcrack of dawn already! Red get over here, Edge you are such a bully!”</p>
<p>What possessed you to storm out and begin scolding the very prickly skeleton, well that would be something you would be asking yourself for days to come. Man, if Red’s eye lights could have been any larger, you doubted he would have room in his sockets for them as you stormed up, and pushed him behind you, placing yourself between the brothers.</p>
<p>“First off..Rude!” You jabed your finger right against Edge’s sternum, to which he would give a sharp grunt, rubbing the spot as if you had burned him. “You don’t go waking people up by crowing like a damn rooster just because your upset about something and furthermore!” By now, Red was sputtering behind you, trying to calm you down, his hand holding to your shoulder with a shaky grip, but you weren’t about to back down now, you were good and fired up. Edge on the other hand? He had crossed his arms over his ribs and .. was he smirking at you? Oh hell no. </p>
<p>“You should treat your brother with more respect! I have no idea what you were talking about when you said soulmate, by the way we will be discussing that later, and also why the hell did you call him Sans and yourself Papyrus?” You were not even halfway done with your rant, but you did catch the fact that the last bit of your little speech had Edge’s smirk fall, a flash of concern passed over his features but he quickly replaced it with that stone wall grimace he clearly had spent too much time practicing. </p>
<p>“No matter who is who to what, I am not going to be claimed” You held your fingers up, making air quotations with the word claimed. “I just met this insane crew you call family, and if anyone has won any favor with me at all, it is Sugar and Axe! So why don’t you just dial it down a bit buddy, and shove off!”</p>
<p>Well, good job. You went and told off a clearly murderous monster every little thing on your mind, and while Red was trembling like a leaf behind you, Edge was giving you nothing to work with here. He was silent, watching you, and it was slowly unraveling the bravado you had worked up. “ARE YOU QUITE FINISHED, PET?” Oh he was asking for another preverbal earful, but your determination was wavering where you stood.</p>
<p>Leaning down to be eye level with you, you silently cursed his stupid smirk as one gloved hand rose to cup against your cheek.. What the hell? You had expected pretty much anything but this. “I like your spirit.” Alright then, where did his loud, obnoxious tone go, and why was he giving you bedroom eyes..err eye lights, and what was up with that slightly gravelly and yet inviting depth to his tone?  “It will be fun to break.. Now..” </p>
<p>Standing straight once more, his arms clasped behind his back, his eye lights following how you stood puzzled and honestly, oddly intrigued, while Red was in stunned silence behind you, a low chuckle rumbled from the edgy skeleton. “I NEED TO REPORT IN NOW, RED I EXPECT YOU TO BEHAVE AND NOT FALL ASLEEP AT YOUR STAND TODAY.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel, his tattered crimson scarf fluttering behind him as he stalked off.</p>
<p>“So..bye ..I guess” Well, not only had he gotten away without answering any of your questions, but he had also made you question a few key things about yourself, namely.. Why the hell did you find a certain skeleton attractive? Its not as though there was anything there to really call eye candy, and yet there was.</p>
<p>Maybe it was personality? Nah, couldn’t be it. While you mused to yourself,  Red had regathered his wits and composure and had wrapped his arms about your middle, sighing into your hair. “Doll.. You're going to get the both of us dusted one day.” His lackluster chuckle broke you from your thoughts.  </p>
<p>After that little display on the porch, the two of you were summoned to breakfast and you finally got what you had been craving, freaking introductions! By the time the food had been served, eaten, and dishes piled up, you had gathered a nice collection of names as well as phone numbers. Of course your questions about soulmates, as well as why Edge had called himself Papyrus and Red Sans, had been swept under the rug so you would just have to question those matters later.</p>
<p>Thanking Papyrus, the actual Papyrus, for making breakfast, you were good and ready for some lazy day in front of the tv, when it dawned on you. “Oh crap! I have to work today!” Half in a frenzy, trying to find your shoes and figure out a way back into town, you knew your nerves would be well frayed by the time you actually got to work. Thankfully, Berry, one of the skeletons you had met that morning, a sort of pint-sized version of Edge but with a very chihuahua sense of anger at any mention of his height, agreed to give you a lift back one.</p>
<p>One heart attack inducing thrill ride on a bike later, you were trying to get your legs steady beneath you as you waved farewell to the tiny terror and vowed never to take up one of his offers again. Well, at least you were home! Hurrying across the street and up the stairs to your apartment, you managed to trip over your own feet.</p>
<p>The fall had caught you by surprise, tumbling backwards down the stairs, you hear a sickening crack, pain rushing through every fiber of your body before everything went black. </p>
<p>You woke with a start, a half eaten, now well melted carton of bubblegum ice cream sat beside you while old reruns blared on your tv. Rubbing the back of your neck, it had a dull throb, must have slept wrong, you made your way to the kitchen to bid Simon, your little cactus, good morning, and froze in your tracks. “What the entire hell…?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for not posting sooner, things have been.. Chaotic! Hope this chapter wasn’t too all over the place, but then again, I kinda just write to see where this particular story will go. Stay safe and healthy everyone!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Things are not alright</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the long delay, I have had the worst case of writer’s block lately!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The morning found you pacing throughout your apartment. Little things were all wrong, off in one way or another. Simon was now a cactus, your fridge was a terrible shade of seventies avocado, your toothbrush was sitting on the side of the sink rather than in a little glass cup as it had been the day before, and even your front door had changed, it now sported a pale baby blue hue.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Plopping down on the armchair you didn’t remember owning, you tried to recall the past few days, but found that there were now gaps in your memory.. You could recall the skeletons of course, they were a new added factor to your life in one way or another, but you were having trouble recalling the days before you met them. Maybe it was something in the water, or maybe you were just losing it. Whatever it was, it was concerning.</p>
<p>You were not given much of a chance to mull over it much longer though, for your cell phone gave a shrill screech of a ring, of course it was work, and of course you were somehow late for a shift you weren’t even scheduled for, at least one that you remembered anyway.</p>
<p>Flying through the usually laid back routine of getting ready for work, you were not one to put things off to the last minute in most circumstances, of course the name of the game today, was things don’t always go as planned it seems. As you tugged the itchy uniform shirt over your head, you were struck with yet another thing seeming out of place.. The colors of the logo were off, ah well, something to puzzle over during your bored hours.</p>
<p>Work was pretty much uneventful, of course you caught hell from your coworkers, though most of it was just some good ribbing at you for being late for the first time in ages. As the end of your shift neared, that old familiar chime of the door opening alerted you to another customer, and this was one you were actually glad to see!</p>
<p>Red was sweating bullets as he looked over, well more than you  the menu, muttered something to himself and seemed to relax a little, especially after you promised to spend some time with him once your shift was done. Half priced food was still cheap food and you were going to take advantage of that of course, now at least you had a dining buddy, and perhaps you could discuss some of the odd goings on ,with him.</p>
<p>You would have to question later on, how a skeleton could pack away so much damn food! He ordered as if he were eating for two, maybe three, but bless him, at least he took his time eating, waiting for you to join him.</p>
<p>Also, the way he tore through mustard packets was, honestly, kind of gross but then again, you liked honey on your burgers, so who were you to judge? Grabbing one of the refill bottles of mustard that was usually left in the prep area, you dropped it off by his table with a wink and went back to your duties.</p>
<p>Once again, you were fortunate enough to have a slow shift as it came to a close, just wiping down some tables, and making sure everything was ready for the next upcoming coworker. All that done, you rang up your own order, swiped your card and waited for it to come up. Jeffery, the cook who had begrudgingly handed over one of the spare bottles of mustard, just shook his head as he prepared your meal. “You are going to die of gut rot one of these days.” His tone was light hearted, but there was a hint of mother hen scolding there.</p>
<p>“Ah Jeffjeff! You know I could never die eating your food, and if I did, I would just haunt your spatula so I could have more of the greasy goodness everyday!” Of course to this, you earned a chicken nugget being tossed your way, which of course you caught. Score, extra nugget, curiosity of one annoyed chef!</p>
<p>Clocked out, food in hand, you snatched up a few honey packets and made your way over to join your boney buddy, who seemed to be glaring daggers back at the kitchen area. Following the path of his glare, you just rolled your eyes and dropped your tray rather loudly onto the table, causing Red to jolt in his seat and smile sheepishly up to you. </p>
<p>“Can the ‘tude. Work buddies, and for that matter, why are you acting like a spoiled drama queen when her boy looks at another girl anyway?” Plopping down in your seat, you snatched up one of his mustard covered fries, chomped down and gave him a what for glare. Your glare of course turned to a grimace as the sharp twang nearly locked your jaw.  “Dude.. seriously?” You held up the half eaten fry. </p>
<p>Red went through a cascade of emotions, nervous, ashamed, mildly miffed, and finally grinning as he watched you try to enjoy your stolen goods. “Eh don’t worry about it.. And Honey” He grinned, holding up one of the packets you had brought with you. “This crap’s way too sweet, sides it balances out.. You’re just too damn sweet as it is.”</p>
<p>You nearly snorted your milkshake through your nose as you covered your mouth, damn him, he timed that just right so you would have a mouthful of your drink! A few paper towels later, you had forgiven and forgotten his little death glare escapade, and you were actually enjoying his company. <br/>“Oh yeah! I almost forgot!” you paused mid bite into your favorite meal, setting the sandwich down as you recalled the day’s events. “So.. I don’t know if I am going crazy or something.. But I got home, and everything was just.. Screwed up!” Rattling off the various oddities to your day, Red seemed to become rather uncomfortable where he sat.<br/>Excusing himself rather quickly, he made a beeline for the restrooms, huh.. Funny, you didn’t think he would actually need to use one of those.. Then again, you hadn’t though a walking skeleton could nearly drink his weight in mustard and you had been proven wrong already so.. Whatever at this point. Shrugging, you went back to your meal.</p>
<p>Red made sure the stalls were all empty before making the call, a rather frantic one. Four rings later, Classic’s sorry ass finally picked up the phone, and nearly got his non-existent ears blasted off from Red’s ranting. Out of the panicked call, he did lock onto one very important fact. You remembered things. They had all felt it that day, the reset.. Just as they had a day or so ago, the fact alone had set the entire house on alert, though of course Red had insisted on going to see if you were alright. </p>
<p>The fact that he had shortcutted to your home, the store you had met Axe at, and finally to your work, well, that could go unsaid, there was no lie that Red was drawn to you, just as the others were, but what was troubling him, was the fact that resets were popping up, and not the normal kind.</p>
<p>True, he was grateful not to wake up in the Underground again, Angel only knows what would happen if the kid had decided to send them all back Underground, the fact that he as well as the rest of the alternates were anomalies in this timeline, well he didn’t want to think about what would happen to them if a true reset took place.</p>
<p>Might be a big enough mess to have Error tearing the place apart, he did not want to have to deal with the crazed destroyer on top of everything else.  “I’m going to stick by Kitten’s side like glue, figure out if she is the one causing the resets, I’ll get back to you.” Hanging up before Sans could get another word in, Red pocketed his phone, and was just about to exit the restroom when he remembered.. Oh yeah, the humans were pretty riled up about this pandemic, wash your hands and all that junk.  One well scrubbed skeleton later, he was plopping down in his eat before you, as though he didn’t have a care in the world.</p>
<p>“So, Kitten, feline to having a good time?” And yes, he timed it to have you almost choke again. Your little mock glare had him rolling with laughter as you finished up your meal. “Depending on what you consider a good time, honestly I think a movie would be a purrfect way to unwind.”</p>
<p>Your little pun didn’t go unnoticed, and he was rattling off one after another as the two of you  cleaned up your table, you lost track after a while, all in all, he was turning out to be good company, though you had to give him a small swat at the back of his skull when he mentioned ‘Netflix and chill’ to your movie suggestion.</p>
<p>Walking back to your apartment, you had caught a ride earlier in the day, but the weather was nice and you had good company, even if some of his puns and jokes were a little bit gutter minded, but you didn’t really mind it all that much. Red was turning out to be a fun guy..err skeleton to hang out with, and honestly, beneath all that gruff and lewd behavior, he actually was a bit charming.</p>
<p>You were broken out of your chain of thought however, as you started to cross the street, a firm hand grasped hold of the back of your shirt and pulled you back to the sidewalk, Red’s arms firm about you as a truck sped by. “Holy shit! How did I not see that?!”</p>
<p>Red was questioning the same thing, just moments ago, the road had been clear.. Just what the entire fuck was going on?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Just what in the..?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Home isn't as safe as Red thinks it might be.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Far too many unanswered questions swarmed through Red’s mind, he had known something was up already, simply for the fact that he and the others had detected resets, but now? Well he had no clue as to how that truck had appeared out of nowhere. He really wanted to chalk it up to the vehicle just being in a blind spot for the both of you, but the thought just didn’t sit well with him, honestly nothing about this entire situation sat well at all.</p>
<p>	“Look Sweetheart, I think we best just.. Well hold on.” Yeah no more taking chances, there was only one guaranteed place he knew would be safe. Home, or rather the house he currently called home. A small ‘eep!’ escaped you as Red pulled you back up against his sweater clad ribs and in a blink of an eye, the world around you went dark.<br/>In the near future, you would be able to give what you had just experienced, a name, a shortcut, but for the time being, your brain could only register so many different sensations at once. Sight, smell, the very touch of the air around you, it all changed so swiftly, from the heat of the day in the street, next you were surrounded by a much dimmer light, just a few rays fluttering through a partially open curtain, and the musty scent of a room which had not been aired out for sometime.</p>
<p>	Your wide eyes took sometime to adjust, and as they did so, you found yourself set back on your feet while a sheepish Red scratched the back of his skull silently. “Magic?” A question that was heavy with so many different questions buried within it, but easily covered the most pressing ones at the moment. “Heh.. yeah.. Thought it best to get you somewhere safe, Doll.”</p>
<p>	You worried the pendant which hung on its chain about your neck as you took in your new surroundings. Messy was not the first word to come to mind, a freaking trash hurricane must have come through recently, evidence easy to spy in the form of empty, half crushed mustard bottles, dirty clothes, and balls of paper strewn about the place and.. Was that a freaking trash tornado swirling in the closet. You arched a brow as you turned your attention to Red and then your gaze back to the impossible thing swirling in the closet. More sheepish chuckles followed. “Yeah. Kinda proud of that actually, you could say I..”</p>
<p>“Red, not the time.” You warned tersely. Seriously, this was not the time for puns, your stress levels had gone from nonexistent to through the roof in a matter of seconds.</p>
<p>“Blew you away with it?” ok weak, not one of his better ones, but it earned a half smile at least. He seemed to relax a bit since you were not yelling, either at him or the fact you had almost died a few moments prior. Making your way over to the matterise half pulled off a battered frame, you hefted the lumpy mess back into place and took a seat, a hand over your heart to try and slow the racing rhythm. </p>
<p>“So.. About what just happened.” Oh no, Red expected a hell of a lot really, he expected you to break down into tears, to scream, but not this sort of calm as you started to speak. The sort of calm that only comes when one is really at their wits end. He had been on that receiving end one too many times, and from the quick glance he stole at your frantic soul, one more push might send you over the edge. “Look Sweetheart, you just take a minute ok? I need to check in with the others.. Try not to think about it too much, just take a nap or something ok?”</p>
<p>Your frown spoke volumes as he cut you off, you really needed to air some of what had just happened, but it was pretty damn clear that Red was not the sort of monster to turn to when it came to comfort. Rolling your shoulder back in a shrug, you huffed and flopped back onto what turned out to be a very surprisingly comfortable bed, if not a bit musty.</p>
<p> Curling in on yourself, you turned your back to the skeleton and traced your thumb over your pendant, worrying it as much as your own mind worried your soul at the moment. Sleep, like that, was something that was going to come easily. A sigh escaped you as you listened for the door to open and close again, Red’s footsteps fading as he disappeared somewhere deeper into the house. <br/>Left alone with your thoughts, you tried to recall the past few days, where everything just didn’t sink up right. Small details, but glaring ones, small aspects of your life that had suddenly changed, as if they had always been that way, as well as the fact that apparently you had died more than once? You could recall the pain when you fell down those stairs, but nothing more, and it was burrowing a pit of worry into your gut.</p>
<p>Listening to the swirl of the trash tornado, the wind and the bits of this and that it collected, you were nearly asleep when the ting of something metallic caught your attention. You rolled over to get a better look at the thing when something whipped right past your head!</p>
<p>Following the path, as well as the sting about a half inch over your ear, your fingers reached up to find a wet heat oozing from a fresh cut and your gaze landed on a steak knife embedded in the wall not far behind you. The trash tornado was out to get you now? NOPE! Nope, nope , nope! You were not going out by way of trash!</p>
<p>Hurrying out of the bed, a few more thuds followed as more bits of trash or cutlery, you didn’t waste time to check, were hurled your way but thankfully missed their mark. You would give Red and earful, well.. A lack of earful you supposed, later, when you were not trying to escape whatever cosmic death threat was placed on your head.</p>
<p>Scrambling out of the room, tripping twice over shoes and a baseball bat of all things, you slammed the door behind you, just as a few more thuds impacted with the door as you slammed it shut.</p>
<p>Backing away from the door, you were now on high alert, your eyes sweeping the area for anything that could be a threat. Finding none, you held your hand over your heart once more, trying to will some peace and calm to your frantic heart. One foot before the other as you inched back, away from the door and of course, right into the railing of the second floor, the loft looking down over the first floor. A startled yelp escaped you, and you would have plummeted, were it not for a strong hand that met your wrist, pulling you back onto your feet.</p>
<p>Your nerves were beyond shot of course, your heart racing a mile a minute, too much had taken place in a matter of moments. So when Blue had discovered you about to fall, pulling you back from the brink of yet another misfortune, you threw your arms about the stocky skeleton and clung to him as though he were a lifeline, he may as damn well be one with what just happened!</p>
<p>“HUMAN? WHAT IS GOING ON? YOU NEARLY FELL! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” The Boisterous question was the final nail in the coffin, so to speak, as your frayed nerves snapped and the tears finally fell, your hold would have choked the breath out of him, had he needed air.  His arms were around you at once, comforting was something this particular skeleton could do, unlike a certain edgier version, and in that moment, with your hands fisted in his grey over shirt, his phalanges traced through your hair while his other hand was firmly placed against the middle of your back, letting you cling to him for as long as you needed.</p>
<p>It took several moments till your frantic cries subsided to hiccups, and you stuttered out an apology for the mess you had made, the mucus and tears leaving a rather large wet patch along his clothing. “Perhaps this can help?” A new voice had you lifting your head, the soft, concerned gaze that met you belonged to a skeleton you had met only recently, well that could be said for any of them. His teeth were set faint frown, concern that matched his town, was written all along his features.</p>
<p>“T..Thank you , Stretch.” Your voice was a bit raw, but that was a given all things considered. . Accepting the handkerchief he had held out, you chuckled meekly at the embroidered design, small little bumblebees with a dotted path from one corner to another. </p>
<p>It took a while longer, till the brothers had you calmed down and cleaned up enough that you were in a stable enough frame of mind to be led back downstairs. Blue excused himself to grab a quick change of clothes, leaving you in Stretch’s care while he did so. </p>
<p>Seated in the living room you had visited not too long ago, you sunk into the couch, your knees hugged up close to your chest as Stretch took a seat near by. One look at you and he knew he didn’t need to read your soul to know you were dancing on a knife’s edge right now, your nerves were shot, and you looked as though death had chewed you up and spit you right back out. He would later learn just how true that actual assessment proved to be.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I do apologize for how long it has taken me to update this story as well as the others I have in the works. Been battling a bit of writer's block.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Just what the hello is going on here?!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the long delay with getting back to my writing, I had to take a hiatus for a bit. Please visit my blog for updates, thank you. https://washedupfae.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evening would come to find you nursing a cup of tea on the couch while a collective group of now paranoid monsters searched the house for any sign of danger. Sugar had been quick to  dismantle any of the house’s ‘puzzles’, most were harmless but some were just a little too close to death traps for your liking, if the arm load of bear traps and chains he had hauled off to their shed had anything to say in the matter.</p>
<p>Red apologized profusely over leaving you alone, having clearly forgotten about his collecting of dirty dishes and flatware stationed just a little too close to his trash tornado, but for the life of him, he couldn’t honestly remember taking any knives up to his room. It wasn’t adding up at all.</p>
<p>Blue had sat you down, once the story spilled forth, with a cup of warm tea which had long since gone cold as your nerves wouldn’t settle long enough to drink more than a tiny sip at a go, your gaze shifting frantically about the living room for any sign of danger.</p>
<p>Leaving you in the care of Blue, Axe, Sugar, and Stretch, Sans and Red promised to return as soon as they could, they just had to check on something down stairs. After the day you had, you had no interest in questioning just what the hell was downstairs, though your nerves were settling as a certain little black lamb was brought inside and snuggled up to your side, bleating happily at the tentative head scritches you gave. </p>
<p>Red was beside himself, literally and figuratively as he and Sans went over the charts and read outs in the basement, it had been converted into a makeshift mini-lab till the rest of their equipment could be unpacked. Nothing was adding up at all. They could see the spikes in void activity, time skips, even a freaking loop, but couldn’t find one speck of information on what tied this back to you. “And the knives..” The pair shuddered, none of the Sanes, or in some cases Papri, really cared for knives and would have even less of a reason to have one stashed away in their rooms. “Can’t put a finger on it, but something is out to get our human.” Red puzzled over the information while Sans arched a brow ridge. “Our?” </p>
<p>This of course earned a snarl of frustration from Red, causing him to toss the useless paperwork aside. “Can it, Classic! You know what I mean.. Hell you know it, we all flipping know it.. Wait..” Red’s features twisted up in sour disdain. “Ah fudge me! When the flick did that act jacket show up?! Where the freak is he?!”</p>
<p>You had just about regained your composure when a crash from the kitchen startled you so bad that the cup slipped from your hands, thankfully not shattering but staining the carpet in the process. “What the hello was that?!” You tilted your head slightly to one side and mouthed the word over again, well it certainly wasn’t what you had meant to say. Were you having a stroke or something?</p>
<p>“JUST WHAT THE FRAG ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU CRETIN?!” A loud, grating voice was soon followed by the sounds of a scuffle taking place in the kitchen, Stretch groaned, running his hand over his face. “Not this guy. Axe, bud.. Get Honey out of here. We’ll deal with the parasite.”</p>
<p>Parasite? You had questions, but of course as always, at least with skeletons it seemed, things were going to keep moving faster than you could raise a single question. Axe huffed, not so much at the request, but at the reason he had to make tracks with you instead of trying to figure out why all hell's breaking out to begin with. Well, no matter, spiriting you away was easier than worrying about this mess.<br/>Once more you sound yourself hefted up on a shoulder while Blue and Stretch hurried off to deal with whatever was going on in the kitchen, from the yelling, it was clear that Edge was dealing with something, just what the something was, you really weren’t sure.</p>
<p>For a skeleton with a hole in his skull and a tendency to space out a lot, Axe could move when properly motivated and as he carried you out of the living room, out into the encroaching night, you caught a flash of something that you could only call a psychedelic mix of neon as it zipped passed. </p>
<p>A series of colorful and rather creative phrases tore from Axe as you found yourself plucked right out of his arms, spun about and held aloft in the arms of yet another skeleton. Head spinning from everything that had taken place in the matter of moments, you clung to this newcomer as the world went dark around you for a mere moment and you found yourself perched up on a tree limb with him, vertigo causing your stomach to clench into a tight knot.</p>
<p>	With a dry mouth and your head swimming, this Lisa Frank reject nearly had you losing the contents of your stomach as you took in not only the height you were precariously seated upon, but the nightmare of neon that this particular skeleton apparently decided was fashion.</p>
<p>	Grinning behind a set of frames that read “YO LO”, you got a rather distinct impression that there was something more sinister to his grin, if the reaction from the other monsters had been anything to go by. “Yo, chill chica, it’s all good, just ain’t nothing shady, just Fresh getting a good look,  those haters back there be trippin’ thinking they keeping a sweet thing like you to themselves.”</p>
<p>	You could almost hear the dial up internet murdering a computer in the background as you tried to translate what had just spilled from this neon plastered skeleton’s mouth. Breath, you reminded yourself, breath, take in the moment and assess what the hell is going on. While you worked on getting your own mental gears to catch up with the last several minutes as well your breathing to steady your nerves, the skeleton seemed rather interested in just sitting there, watching you.</p>
<p>	Well, other than being an eyesore and freaking kidnapping you, he had been rather harmless, but looks can be deceiving, and the others had flipped out over his arrival, not to mention the fact you still had no idea where you were, other than up a tree! Step one, get out of the tree without breaking your damn neck. “So..How about you..” </p>
<p>“Fresh”</p>
<p>	His grin never failed as he interjected, interrupting you and earning a stern glare before you continued on. “Ok yeah, Fresh, how about you get us down to old terra ferma and then explain just why the fudge..” You took in a breath, eyes shut for a moment to curb your temper, whatever trick this skeleton was using to adjust your language, it was getting tiresome. “Is going on, sound good?”</p>
<p>	His grin never fell, though you might have caught a slight bit of tension to roll through his frame at your near curse, his grip tightened slightly, causing the tips of his phalanges to dig into your shoulder and thigh, a small reminder that you were indeed still up that same damn tree. You bit back the urge to squeak as you glanced back down again, and tightened your grasp about his neck and shoulders, you really didn’t want to add falling from a tree to your growing list of near / maybe actually deaths.</p>
<p>	“Oh snap! My bad, little momma, no need to sweat it, heights got you trippin? No prob, just hold on tight now.”</p>
<p>	That former would have been a squeak became a full on shriek as this idiot skeleton leapt from the branch, the momentary sensation of weightlessness could not combat the terror of having nothing firm beneath you. All too soon the world was rushing past, closing your eyes you awaiting the sickening crunch and splatter of your body when it would meet the ground, but found that same weightlessness to return just before you could have made contact.</p>
<p>	You were honestly afraid to open your eyes, you had to open them however, when this jackass of a skeleton began snickering. Looking about once you had the courage to do so, you realized that you, still being held of course, hovering a foot off the ground with a faint blue haze surrounding the pair of you. “M..Magic?” If anyone were to point out your stutter right now, they could shove it.</p>
<p>	“Tight, isn’t it?” Gravity returned with a vengeance and you were close to losing the battle with your rebellious gut, but thankfully Fresh seem to clue in on how green you must have looked at this point, and sat you down, running his hand along your back as you took a few unsteady breaths, silently thanking whatever gods above might be listening, that your feet were finally back on solid ground.</p>
<p>	“Ok Fresh.” Your voice might have wavered a bit, but now that you were no longer facing down a fall, you found a little courage returning. “How about you take me back to my friends? This has been.. Fun..” Yeah real fun, like a root canal sort of fun. “But I know they have to be worried about me, so if you can just get me back to them, we can overlook this whole kidnapping thing, sound good?”</p>
<p>	You could have spit nails as he shoved his hands in his pocket, that same old grin returning. “Nah. I’m good. Just had to do my job. See ya Sweets!” With that, the bastard vanished on you.</p>
<p>	“What the hell?!” Your screech startled some birds from there nests, well at least you could curse again.. But just why the hell had he stranded you out in the middle of god knows where?!  You were near murderous as you took in your surroundings.</p>
<p>	Great. Nothing but trees for as far as you could see. Well, no better time than now to start walking. Stupid neon skeletons, stupid magic, and stupid near death experiences making you too damn jumpy for your own good!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was *difficult* for me to write, I had to look up freaking translators for Fresh so I do apologize if he came across kinda.. Off. Also, Fresh what the heck man? Why you got to go abandoning our poor Reader in the woods like that? Also, had to stop and start on this chapter a few times, sorry if the flow was off at times.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Alone in the forest? Maybe Not..</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A run in with the reason you are in these blasted woods. Reader is getting a tad grumpy.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ah I can finally get back to writing, it has been a busy few days but I am glad all to be able to put some time aside again to work on my stories, thank you for being patient with me.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You could honestly say that life had dealt you an odd hand as of late. While the world was struggling with a pandemic, you had your own share of scares and too many unexplained circumstances that left you bewildered, and here you were now, deposited in the middle of the woods thanks to a Lisa Frank reject of a skeleton.</p>
<p>	There were several things you could do right now, you could panic, cry, try to find your way back or do what first came to mind. A whole lot of cursing and stomping around the clearing you found yourself in. Stupid skeletons. Stupid world upheaval. Stupid chaos!</p>
<p>	Your mind snapped back to one fact, your chaos necklace. Was it the root of all of this trouble? A grimace set firm over your features, you nearly snapped the delicate clasp as you pulled it free from around your neck and held it up to get a better look at it. Surely this little hunk of twisted silver and sparkly stones couldn’t be the reason your life was a mess right now, could it?</p>
<p>	Well stranger things have happened, and it did get its name from all the times strange things had happened to you while wearing it, but never to this degree. A small, frustrated sigh parted your lips as you looked around, necklace in hand, trying to decide what to do now and where to go.</p>
<p>	“You know, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when Sci informed me that an anomaly had shown up in this timeline, but I have to admit, you have made things interesting.”</p>
<p>	You whirled around on the spot, your eyes scanning the area for the source of that voice, last thing you needed was another surprise with your nerves strung as tight as they were.</p>
<p>	“You know, I have always favored these sort of timelines, where everyone frets over one special little human. They are always so much fun! But this is a first, do you have any  idea just how much trouble you put me through? I had to throw Error completely off your scent.”</p>
<p>	A shriek broke from you as a blur of tan and white dropped down from the tree, your hand which held your necklace was now over your racing heart. “The fuck man?!” You had more than half a mind to haul off and slap this smug, odd skeleton as he dusted himself off.</p>
<p>	Once your surprise had settled and your pulse evened out, you were able to get a good look at this rather rude new monster. You caught a glimpse of swirling black lines about the column of bones which made up his neck, a large dark bloat upon one of his cheek bones, but it was his eye sockets which really confused you.</p>
<p>	Sure you had seen some odd things before, hell Blue had stars for eye lights, but this guy? It was as though his pools of inky black couldn’t decide on what shape to take. A star in one, a diamond in the other, and when he blinked, they changed? </p>
<p>	You took a step back to get a better look at this odd skeleton. One thing that caught your attention was the string of different colored vials neatly tucked in along a bit of cloth that ran over his torso, as well as the comically large brush nestled behind him.. Was that even practical? How could anyone use something like that? It was more or a broom than a paint brush.. Eh, you were losing focus, giving this skeleton a good once over, you noted the large, heavy brown scarf draped about his shoulders and for half a moment you thought you caught sight of some writing hastily scrawled over it? Weird.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” There was no hiding the suspicion in your voice, it wasn’t as though you had forgotten just how you had ended up here, alone in the woods. Was this the one who had hired that ninety’s  reject to kidnap you?</p>
<p>“Oh? Of course, introductions! My name is Ink, and it is a pleasure to meet you.. Wait don’t say your name, let me guess, Yuno, as in, you know your own name, am I correct?”</p>
<p>Yuno? What in the ever loving hell was he going on about? “Eh.. No..I have a name, and it most certainly isn’t Yuno..” You had a mental list and were ticking off one checkbox at a time of just why this particular skeleton was about to earn your wrath. Apparently he arranged your kidnapping, most certainly sending your friends into a panic, was playing it off as if this was just some friendly how do you do, and now calling you something dumb like anomly and now this silly name? You were two seconds from telling him exactly where he could stick his silly paintbrush when he held up his hand.</p>
<p>“I know, of course you have a name, but it just makes it so much easier to call you Yuno, I get so tired of reading Y slash N over and over again, honestly it really just gets so tiring and..” Yep, he was rambling, near ranting it seems, and clearly not paying any attention to you anymore. Well you had your options, continue to listen to his tirade, or find a big stick and..</p>
<p>THWAP!</p>
<p>This Ink fellow really needed to pay more attention and not get so distracted. It had been far too easy to find a sizeable fallen limb and give him a good thump on the noggin. You gave him a once over, after all , all you had in mind was knocking him out cold, which you did rather well, not doing any long term harm. At least you hoped your little swing wouldn’t leave him with any lasting damage. </p>
<p>You hummed to yourself for a moment, deciding what to do now. Leave this pain in the ass out here in the woods or drag him back to the house, if you could find the house that is. Your conscious was already needling at you of course, there was no way you could actually just abandon him here even if he really deserved what he got.</p>
<p>“Alright Ink blob, I guess you’re coming with me.. You better not be as heavy as you look.” Thankfully he was much lighter than he appeared, but then again, he was mostly bones and art supplies. It took some doing but after a bit of fumbling, you managed to get him up over your back, arms falling over your shoulders, dragging his feet behind you as you began the arduous task of trying to find your way back to where you belonged.</p>
<p>There were many things you had a strong distaste for. Bad coffee, awful daytime tv sitcoms, talk shows, candy getting lost in your pocket and then tumbled through the dryer till it near adhered to your pocket lining thus leaving you with a sticky, lint covered mess, but you would have to say, at the top of your list of grievances, was dragging this pain in the ass through the woods with no idea where you were going.<br/>A good half hour of this nonsense later, you were finding yourself fatigued from having to drag this skeleton along while trying not to trip over upturned roots or snag your ankles on thorny vines which seemed to litter the forest floor. Yep, you were one hundred percent done with this place. Grumbling under your breath, you nearly missed the small snap of a twig followed soon after by the tinkling of a bell. What you didn’t miss however, was the sound of something crashing through the woods, over head. </p>
<p>Well you had a half second to decide what to do, and the best thing was to fall flat to the ground, whatever was descending at a rapidly growing pace your way, well you could hope it would miss you. You gave a sharp grunt as you hit the ground, the slight weight of the skeleton behind you prodded your spin with every sharp point he had, just as a heavy log swung over head.</p>
<p>Your heart was in your throat now. Had you not noticed the signs, had been too lost in thought, that could have taken your damn head off! Laying there on the forest floor, your pulse hammering in your ears, you had a small number of options before you now. Risk setting another trap, or wait for who or whatever had set that one to come looking for whatever had sprung the trap. </p>
<p>Yeah you had met enough crazy for one day, best to make it a slow go of things, and be extra careful as you continued on. After the log incident, you were on high alert, and good thing too! You avoided a ridiculous number of bear traps, your stomach twisted in a knot at the thought of being caught up in one of those. You also managed to spot a few trip wires, but the day was waning and soon night would come, stealing away the light.</p>
<p>It was fairly clear that traveling in this forest was a fool’s errand, so you would have to find somewhere safe to hunker down for the night. After checking a small clearing for anymore traps, you eased Ink down against the trunk of an old pine, stood and let your back pop and crack in several places. Stars it felt good. Well, nothing to be done for shelter, food, or drink tonight.. Which sucked a great deal. You were both pretty damn hungry as well as thirsty. There was also nothing to be done for the fact that if you wanted to keep warm, you would have to snuggle up to this creep who had kidnapped you, and share that stupid large scarf of his.</p>
<p>Settled for now, you went over your mental list of just how bad this situation actually was. Three days, three days was all the time you could go without water, if you were really unlucky. Worrying your lip, you wondered with a nagging, creeping chill that traveled up your spine, if you would make it three days in this forest. Would you wake up back at the skeleton household? Was this going to be another weird fluke of time or something? It was all too confusing and was starting to build a headache behind your eyes.</p>
<p>Maybe luck would be on your side in the morning, but for now, you had your irritation and worry, as well as the snoozing skeleton at your side for company. Man, when he wakes up, he was most certainly going to get a piece of your mind.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I struggled over what to do with this chapter so we’ll just have to see what is going on from here on out. As a point of interest, in all the reader insert stories I have read, I always see Y/N as Yuno, you know your own name, I had to have Ink be a little meta pain in the coccyx with that bit.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know this was a bit all over the place, but to tell you the truth, I was just having fun with the idea of a car full of skeletons pulling up to a small town drive-thru in the middle of the night with their shenanigans. 	I’m sure it seems pretty chaotic, just having fun with this idea, and the following chapters should flow a bit more smoothly.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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